What saddens me is that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is increasingly reflecting a woman's face. Women are the worst sufferers, as they get infected by their husbands, and then are blamed for the transmission. They are denied medical care while, at the same time, being expected to look after the HIV+ husbands and children. Sex workers also become vulnerable targets of infection as well as stigma and discrimination. Sex workers are labelled as perpetrators of HIV, yet statistics show that 80 per cent of women who are infected with the virus are homemakers engaged in monogamous sexual relations with their husbands. As long as gender inequalities exist, the HIV problem will continue unabated.
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